Foreskin too tight???

[luvmybucababy]

Has anyone heard of this...
We have decided that if we have a boy not to circ. Since that decision I have heard a few stories about boys who have had to get circ-ed at an older age(7,12) because their foreskins had become too tight? Is this true?

[MistyMM]

no it is absolutely not true and you can visit www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org and search for the topic, as well as www.nocirc.org and search for the topic. It's amazing how doctors are so willing to chop off the penis at the slightest hint of a problem. *sigh*

Misty

[nd_deadhead]

This is just a small example of the MIS information floating around about foreskins, and it's what makes forums like this SO important!

You might also hear stories of boys/men who "had" to be circ'ed later; how having a foreskin predisposes a boy to all sorts of dread diseases, including UTIs, penile cancer, and HIV; how a penis with a foreskin is difficult to keep clean, and therefore can be rank and smelly.

The truth is that foreskins on little boys are SUPPOSED to be tight, to prevent ooky stuff from coming in contact with the glans, and into the urethra. In fact, at borth the foreskin is literally fused to the glans, with an opening just big for urine to pass through. As long as the child CAN pass urine, the opening is big enough. Gradually, the foreskin separates, a little at a time. This can happen during the toddler years, or the foreskin might not fully retract until puberty. There is no exact timetable - any more than there is an exact time when girls should develop breasts.

Unfortunately, in a society where circumcision is the norm, even doctors are vulnerable to the myth and misinformation. And because circumcision is the norm, they often are not experienced at treating males with foreskins, and many choose circumcision as the treatment of chjoice for anything that might go wrong with the penis.

In countries where circumcision is only performed for religious reasons, and most of the males have foreskins, there is rarely a need for later circumcisions. Infections are treated with antibiotics, actual cases of phimosis (tight foreskin) are treated with a steroid cream - NOT surgery.

The foreskin is a perfectly normal, healthy part of the body, and no more likely to have problems than any other part. As a wise parent, you will monitor your child's health, and seek medical attention for ANY part of his that has problems - there's no need to cut bits off to prevent possible problems in the future! And as a compassionate paretn, you will make sure that your child's treatment for any medical problem will start with the least invasive treatment, leaving surgery as a last resort after other treatment has failed.

Welcome to the board, and best wishes to you for a comfortable pregnancy and a healthy baby!

Ann

[Gitti]

If the foreskin is retracted repeatedly at an early age it will form tiny scar tissues. Scar tissue is not elastic.

So, when the child's penis grows and the foreskin should retract freely, it will be "tight" (actually scared up) and may have to be removed. (Iatrogenic)

In nature that does not happen. So, simply leave the foreskin alone, instruct everyone (babysitters) to leave it alone (most of all doctors and nurses) and the child will never have that sort of problem.

[morning glory]

I would imagine that it's about as common as your eyelids being too tight.

Seriously though...there can be problems with a foreskin but there probably won't be. Your son may also at some point need his appendix, tonsils, gall bladder or some other appendage removed or operated on in some way. Are you going to just have that done to him as a baby so "he doesn't have to go through it later"?

I think most of the time when people tell you stories like that they are just trying to justify circ in general. Afterall we can't have been cutting perfectly good parts off our baby boys for the past 100 years for no reason at all, right?

Casey

[njeb]

Originally Posted by nd_deadhead

This is just a small example of the MIS information floating around about foreskins, and it's what makes forums like this SO important!

You might also hear stories of boys/men who "had" to be circ'ed later; how having a foreskin predisposes a boy to all sorts of dread diseases, including UTIs, penile cancer, and HIV; how a penis with a foreskin is difficult to keep clean, and therefore can be rank and smelly.

The truth is that foreskins on little boys are SUPPOSED to be tight, to prevent ooky stuff from coming in contact with the glans, and into the urethra. In fact, at borth the foreskin is literally fused to the glans, with an opening just big for urine to pass through. As long as the child CAN pass urine, the opening is big enough. Gradually, the foreskin separates, a little at a time. This can happen during the toddler years, or the foreskin might not fully retract until puberty. There is no exact timetable - any more than there is an exact time when girls should develop breasts.

Unfortunately, in a society where circumcision is the norm, even doctors are vulnerable to the myth and misinformation. And because circumcision is the norm, they often are not experienced at treating males with foreskins, and many choose circumcision as the treatment of chjoice for anything that might go wrong with the penis.

In countries where circumcision is only performed for religious reasons, and most of the males have foreskins, there is rarely a need for later circumcisions. Infections are treated with antibiotics, actual cases of phimosis (tight foreskin) are treated with a steroid cream - NOT surgery.

The foreskin is a perfectly normal, healthy part of the body, and no more likely to have problems than any other part. As a wise parent, you will monitor your child's health, and seek medical attention for ANY part of his that has problems - there's no need to cut bits off to prevent possible problems in the future! And as a compassionate paretn, you will make sure that your child's treatment for any medical problem will start with the least invasive treatment, leaving surgery as a last resort after other treatment has failed.

Welcome to the board, and best wishes to you for a comfortable pregnancy and a healthy baby!

Ann

: Ann, you said what I was going to say, and you said it better.

[Frankly Speaking]

Luvmybucababy:

Let me give you a statistic to illustrate how much you need to worry about this.

In Sweden, 1 in 18,000 men are circumcised past the post natal period in their lifetimes for all reasons. That's a pretty low risk, isn't it?

The problem in America is that doctors read a single research study that said that 2/3 of boys should have retractile foreskins by the time they are 3 years old. They totally disregard the fact that 1/3 are not retractile and any boy that isn't retractile by 3 years old gets a "tight foreskin" diagnosis and a prescription for circumcision. Another statistic: We have had literally hundreds of Moms come here with a tight foreskin diagnosis and not a single one of those boys have been circumcised and all are happy and healthy today. That's also a pretty stark statistic!

Although there is that one study, there are about a half dozen other studies about this including one that says 70% of boys have tight foreskins until puberty and from personal experience here on this board and others, I would say this study is more accurate. Basically, if a doctor tells you that your son has a tight foreskin and needs a circumcision, tell the doctor to get a part time job at McDonalds to make their next Mercedes payment and to keep their hands off of your son's penis!



Frank

[luvmybucababy]

Thanks so much for all of the great info! I knew something wasn't quite adding up in those stories. I'm so glad this forum is here!

[MistyMM]

Originally Posted by Frankly Speaking

Basically, if a doctor tells you that your son has a tight foreskin and needs a circumcision, tell the doctor to get a part time job at McDonalds to make their next Mercedes payment and to keep their hands off of your son's penis!



Frank

LOL Frank!! Can we tell that scapal happy OBGYN that about our uteri too?

I always love reading your posts
Misty